Hidden Beauty
by jj97prue
Summary: There was a girl who yearned for an adventure and a prince who yearned for a hope to return to his true form. One day, their paths crossed over. Yet, there might not be a girl, but a boy who had secrets of his own. Slash! Read inside despite the poor info. Petition alert!
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Walt Disney's Beauty and the Beast and J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter.

**Ratings**: T (**M** in a few scenes)

**Pairings**: Harry/Adam (Beast)

**Warnings**: slash, male x male, violence, maybe underage, MPreg.

**This Chapter**: Full quote from BB.

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**Hidden Beauty**

**Prologue**

Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young prince lived in a shining castle. Although he had everything his heart desired, the prince was spoiled, selfish, and unkind.

But then, one winter's night, an old beggar woman came to his castle and offered him a single rose in return for shelter from the bitter cold. Repulsed by her haggard appearance, the prince sneered at the gift and turned the old woman away, but she warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found from within.

And when he dismissed her again, the old woman's ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful enchantress. The prince tried to apologise, but it was too late, for she had seen that there was no love in his heart, and as punishment, she transformed him into a hideous beast...

"**BEAST, A HIDEOUS BEAST**" echoed through Prince Adam, now known as the Beast's mind. He thrashed the furniture around the West Wing, unleashing his rage for being stupid not searching for magical presences.

Yes, he was a prince with magic in his veins. His parents were purebloods of Ledoux-Verville family. They were the most adored royal family in the magical France. However, due to a strange plague that fell across the majestic land, half of the population together with the King and Queen had succumbed to it. He was only five years old.

The people knew their new ruler was only a boy. Some had declared war to seize the kingdom. That too had reduced the number of people. Realising there is no hope, the rest of the people left to build a new life or to forget the war.

The only people who had remained behind were the servants of the castle and the prince himself. Despaired by the lack of loyalty from their fellow countrymen, they turned their gaze to the royal prince. They spoiled him, made sure he never lacked of anything, ultimately curbing his curiosity to venture beyond the castle grounds and human compassion.

As the years gone by, magic had depleted most parts of the land. The castle stood in a forest of deadly trees and always-hungry wolves. Magic surrounded the castle, providing a natural Muggle and wizard Notice-me-not charm. Very few powerful wizards and witches, such as the enchantress, came across the surviving structure usually in their travels.

It was from that magic the enchantress had casted a spell to turn him into a beast and enchanted everything, living or non-living, within the vicinity of the castle. Ashamed of his monstrous form, the beast concealed himself inside the castle, with a magic mirror and an enchanted rose. The mirror was the very few surviving artefact to last from the war while the rose was created from the enchantment, which would bloom until his twenty-first year.

If he could love another and earn their love in return by the time the last petal fell, the spell would be broken. If not, he would remain a beast for all time. That was the condition he remembered from that winter's night. He turned now to gaze upon the rose, now covered in a glass. He told himself that all hope is lost, for who could ever love a beast as he watched a petal fell, bringing him further into his doom.

What he did not know, there was a boy in a Muggle village nearby, dreamed about the lonely prince. A boy who had vowed to be his friend, never to be lonely again and maybe, to fall in love with.

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**I hope you like the prologue. I know Harry is very vague in the introduction. Please send me a lot of reviews. Please mind my spelling and grammar.**


	2. Chapter I

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Walt Disney's Beauty and the Beast and J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter.

**Ratings**: T (**M** in a few scenes)

**Pairings**: Harry/Adam (Beast)

**Warnings**: slash, male x male, violence, maybe underage, MPreg.

**This Chapter**: Full quote from BB.

* * *

**Hidden Beauty**

**Chapter I**

Birds were chirping in this fine morning, greeting a young maiden who just exited the front door and began her walk into town.

It is true that her name means beauty for she is the Belle of the village. She had long, black hair, always tied in a single braid. Her heart-shaped face had high cheekbones, which is dusted in pink constantly. She was slim and fit as a fiddle. Her best features were her eyes and lips. Her lips were soft red, while her eyes were the deepest forest green you will ever find.

And yet, one can notice that this young lady did not look necessarily as much as she has portrayed herself. Her chin was unusually sharp. She had knobbly knees and her shoes were also unusually large for a maiden's feet. Yes, if one could look as close and not dismiss the idea, it was indeed a boy masquerading as a lady.

Maurice, the feminine boy's father watched him go into town before progressing into one of his inventions. He could still remember that day, when he was a young scientist with a lovely lady eagerly waiting for the birth of his child. Till this day, he was surprised to have such a beautiful wife, Lily. She could have had any man she wanted, but in the end she chose Maurice. They were simply in love with each other.

On the day the child was due to born, there were complications. Maurice received the news that the baby was too small and nearly blue. Lily on the hand suffered a tear in her womb, unable to sire any more children. Maurice kept vigil on his newborn and precious wife. He prayed, oh he prayed hard, begging for their safety. Lily had recovered before the baby did. It took two weeks before they held their child for the first time. Maurice was happy that it was a boy. He had hinting for weeks that he knew the boy's gender. Lily had claimed otherwise.

Two summers had passed. It would seem that she was right as well. Their boy, Harry, in honour of his maternal grandfather was still small for his age and looked a lot like a girl. He was stubborn and iron-willed like Maurice, but gentle as a flower like Lily. He would play dolls and dresses with his mother, occasionally play with the other children around their neighbourhood. At times, he refused to go out and cry, as he was constantly teased for being a girl. On Lily's death bed, she asked him her last wishes and secret. He was a magical child; a wizard. She was apparently a second-generation squib on her mother's side of the family.

She had hoped Harry would be free from her curse, and her wish came true. However, she had warned him that due to his stature, he might be a submissive (a girl) and will be able to bear children for his spouse. Maurice was in shock. His analytical mind kept shouting, "**It's illogical, magic cannot exist without proof"** and yet he knew Lily would not lie in his heart. He was merely grateful that Harry was not here temporarily to hear this. He promised her that should Harry forsake his identity and chooses another, he would accept him. He even promised to name her Belle. That was when Harry came through the front door and rushed to his mother's side. The five-year-old boy couldn't dream to be apart from his mother, begged her not to leave him.

She gave him a peck on his forehead and told him to look after his papa for her, before closing her eyes and releasing her breath into an everlasting slumber. Maurice have never forgotten that day, and he knew neither did Harry. Maurice and Harry left the town within the week. They spend time together travelling, re-discovering science as Maurice had put it. He noticed Harry had begun to change to look like his belated mother, and honoured his promise in naming her Belle.

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It was in Belle's thirteen summers when they came to this provincial town. Gaston remembered that day very clearly. He was nineteen years old, attracting the eyes of all the pretty ladies. That was the three Bimbettes as he would like to call them. He would choose one of them to be his lucky bride, until that day. He saw a carriage coming through town into a house, which used to belong to a travelling merchant. Everyone was curious to know their new neighbours. Gaston spied on the new arrivals with his friend/posy, Lefou. He was hiding behind the hedges in front of their house.

That was when he saw a lady crying out to her father, "Papa, Papa! I absolutely love this place!" He looked up to gaze upon the striking emerald gems he had ever seen. His heart literally had stopped beating for a second, only to resume beating rapidly after. He faintly heard Lefou fainting in the background, no doubt in awe of her beauty. What a fine maiden, he thought to himself. "Belle, I plead you to watch where you are going. These instruments are expensive, my dear." That must be the father, no one else, he hissed mentally to himself. Then he heard the beauty speak, "Oh forgive me, papa. I just excited. Here, let me help you with that." Gaston said to himself," Belle, that was her name. It was a sign, I knew it so. Lefou, wake up! Today, I have found my bride. And one day, I'm going to marry only her."

And so, he pursued her endlessly. He didn't understand her. She refused to fall at his feet, like the others. She once dared to scold him in public too. Ah, her angry only intensified her beauty. No matter, she will be his pretty little housewife once he married her. That was what he told himself until now, five years later. Gaston was the greatest hunter in the whole world, and he is yet to get the girl. Lefou had discouraged him to pursue his affections for that bookworm. He has yet to give up on her.

Finally, he was able to catch up with her. The morning crowd must be crazy today. "Hello, Belle" Gaston greeted her. Oh, that silly book again. It always hid her angelic face and those gorgeous gems. "Bonjour, Gaston." No, this simply will not do. He grabbed the book from her. She huffed at him, but politely asked, "Gaston, may I have my book back, please?" He pretended to be confused and flicked the pages through. He said, "How can you read this? There are no pictures." This is positively a boring book. In that gentle tone again she said, "Well, some people use their imagination." Not if he has anything to say about it. Coughing gently he lectured, "Belle, it's about time you got your head out of those books..." and he thought to himself, "**what a good opportunity too**" as he spied a pool of mud in the corner of his right eye and tossed the book into that direction. He smirked inwardly as he heard the splash and continued to lecture, "...and paid attention to more important things...like me! The whole town is talking about it. It's not right for a woman to read...soon she starts getting ideas... and thinking." There, that should stop her.

He watched Belle pick up the book and clean off the mud. She smiled at Gaston, as though she was humouring him. Belle said, "Gaston, you are positively primeval." A man of opportunity, when he sees one, he grabs it. He put his hands on her shoulder. He leered at her, "Why, thank you, Belle. Hey, whaddya say you and me take a walk over to the tavern and have a look at my hunting trophies." She tried to flee but Gaston held her tight with his arm around her shoulder. She desperately said, "Maybe, some other time" He could clearly hear what those Bimbettes were saying. "What's wrong with her?" "She's **crazy**!" "He's gorgeous!" That's right, he was gorgeous and proud of it. She should be happy that he was giving this much attention to anyone. She managed to slip through his hold and grabbed her book from Gaston. She pleaded, "Please, Gaston, I can't. I have to get home and help my father."

Lefou appeared after managed to drag his hunt of the around. He dropped them to laugh mockingly at Belle. "Ha ha ha, that crazy old loon, he need all the help he can get." Gaston joins Lefou as they laughed heartily. She growled, "Don't talk about my father that way!" Ah, there's the spark. Oops, better get back into her good graces. He scolded, "Yeah don't talk about her father that way." He added a conk on Lefou's head. She seemed mollied and continued passionately, "My father's not crazy! He's a genius!"

To verify her claim, a explosion blasted in the background. Gaston and Lefou continued laughing as Belle rushes home. Yes, as he watched her run towards the house and descended into the basement, she was his lucky bride. There will be no one else.

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Ta da! Do the imagining of the Bonjour song in BB yourself. There will be Harry's POV next chapter. Please send me a lot of reviews again. Please mind my spelling and grammar.


	3. Chapter II

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Walt Disney's Beauty and the Beast and J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter.

**Ratings**: T (**M** in a few scenes)

**Pairings**: Harry/Adam (Beast)

**Warnings**: slash, male x male, violence, MPreg.

**This Chapter**: Full quote from BB.

***bold* or bold – **flashback / thoughts (just not to confuse you guys)

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**Hidden Beauty**

**Chapter II**

**HARRY / BELLE**

Harry has never felt so exhausted. He thought about running away, reading those fantasy novels gave him plenty of ideas of what he could do. He gave a heavy sigh, knowing he couldn't possibly leave his beloved papa behind. He titled his head back to blowing wind and blazing sun, as he let himself immersed on the past 24 hours' events in his lying position on the meadow behind his house.

***Flashback***

When he opened the door to the basement, a huge smoke ensnared him. He turned his face away and covered his mouth. Calling out to his papa, he prayed for his father's safety. Hearing his father cursing away about his latest invention, he let out a relief sigh. **Honestly!** He shook his head as he thought his papa being silly again. Heaving another sigh, he gave an amused smile as he said to himself, "**That's just papa being papa**." Papa really wanted to win this science fair to take him to Paris.

It is said you can get the latest fashion in Paris. They are the pioneer of fashion, and it is must for any lady who is in their marriageable age to be in the current trend. Harry didn't need fancy clothes or gaudy jewellery to show he is available. He rolled his eyes as he thought about Gaston who is rather persistent on shackling up with him. **"Wait till he finds out that he is after a man. Hah**!" He giggled to himself, alerting his father that Harry has not been paying attention to his ramblings again.

"Belle, do come down from whatever cloud you are riding on and help me to get this boneheaded contraption to work," called his father, Maurice. Paying attention to Maurice now he said, "Oh, Papa! Be patient, papa! I am absolutely positive that you will make it work and win first prize at the fair tomorrow..." Still angry, Maurice crossed his arms and gave a loud 'Hmmmph!' Harry added with a dreamy voice, "...And become a world famous inventor!" Mollified, Maurice asked, "You really believe that?" Harry gave a soft smile to his father. "I always have."

Burst with new energy at the conviction of his son's belief, he cried, "Well, what are we waiting for? I'll have this thing fixed in no time." He slid under the machine, sounds of nuts and bolts tinkling around the machine. "Hand me that dog-legged clencher there... So, did you have a good time in town today?"

"**Well, to be honest, things would have been okay if it weren't for Gaston and his words of wisdom for today,"** thought Harry. His face marred in a frown. "I got a new book today. Papa, do you think I'm odd?"

Papa paused for a moment before going back to his fixing. However, it informed Harry that the question itself was ridiculous as he knew he was odd. Maurice asked cautiously, "Now where did you get an idea like that?" He gave a sigh, "Oh, I don't know. It's just I'm sure I fit in here. There's no one I can really talk to." Under the machine, Maurice had instantly recalled a young man who kept sending Belle flowers for a year when they first moved in. "What about that Gaston? He's a handsome fellow!"

Maurice knew it will not satisfy Belle's question. He heard Belle complained, "He's handsome all right, and rude and conceited... Oh papa, he's not the one for me!" And sadly, it did remind him that Belle is a young adult now. Tightening the nut, he slid out from under the machine and said, "Well, don't you worry, cause this invention's going to be the start of a new life for us. I think that's done it. Now, let's give it a try."

Maurice pulled the lever. Harry and his papa stepped back, as they watched the machine whirs and chops wood, as it should. Astonished and proud, he cried, "It works!" Shocked as well Maurice said, "It does? It does!" Feeling excited at his papa's success, he cried once more, "You did it! You really did it!" "Hitch up Phillipe, girl. I'm off to the fair." Belle winced when a log struck his father in the head, knocking him out.

* * *

Later in the mid afternoon, Harry bid them good luck and a safe journey. He watched his father urged Phillipe in the right direction. He hoped that his father will make there in time. Now, he could catch up on his warding. He might need a special one for Gaston.

That night was the first time he had a nightmare/vision. It was as if he was an owl. He was hooting on a dead branch, watching a man and a horse making their journey in the eerie forest. The man only had the light as his weapon. The owl knew he was not a hunter. It could also hear the wolves howling, alerting one another on the feast that they will have for that night. Harry was in a fit in his dream. He was helpless to watch his papa in danger.

Suddenly, he became a wolf. He was hungry, chasing a wonderful prey. **They will feast tonight.** Harry reared back. Feast! No! Papa! Run! The wolf and Harry roared in their minds. The wolf prevailed and was close to snapping the prey's ankle. He instead got clobbered in the head and flew through the air. His back connected to a bark. He whined painfully. His vision grew dark steadily. The last he saw was that his papa was running towards a giant castle.

Harry woke up from the nightmare. His chest was heaving, breathing in as much as he could. He could feel the dampness around his chest and forehead. The blanket was thrown onto the floor. Harry pressed the heel of his palm against his eyes. **Papa!** He was so afraid. He knew that he did not have any Seer blood, but it was too coincidentally to be ignored. He slowly meditated into a trance, retreating into his Occlumency barriers. He started this forbidden craft when he was eight, old enough to engage into the Hidden Arts. It was a way for to cope with his mother's death and his need to be a lady. His father does not know that he has been practising magic for some time, even before his mother had gone.

He came around his trance half an hour later. The sun was not up yet. He grabbed the blanket and snuggled back into bed. The instant his head hit the pillow, he was swept away into a myriad of colours in different spectrums.

* * *

The sun rose steadily into the sky. The rooster crowed to the sun like an old friend. The cottage was quiet and dark. However, a small ray managed to sneak through Harry's windows and shine directly at Harry's face. His nose wrinkled like a pig, while he shut his eyes further to block the sun light for more sleep. To no avail, Harry could not fall back into sleep. He stretched his arms while lying in his beds.

He blinked his eyes open. He wondered what he dreamt last night. That's when he remembered the weird nightmare/vision like dream. He shook his head, wanting his brain to be more awake than before. Unfortunately he was awake with the dream playing through his mind. It was not real, but felt like real. He huffed, and got out of bed.

He began his day by doing his chores; sweep the floor, feed the chicken and do the laundry. On his way to hang the clothes, he thought he saw a few people sneaking through the hedge. That was odd. He heard glimpses of words like wedding, bride, propose and many other which sounded more like gibberish. Harry thought of it as irrelevant and went back to her work.

After settling his chores, he sat near the fireplace in his father's chair, reading a book on magical herbs and its use. One will never know if it could come in handy someday. Halfway through the first paragraph, there was a knock at the front door. He put the book down and walked to the door. He reached up and pulled down a viewing device. He peeked through and saw an anachronistically accurate fish-eye view of Gaston. He moaned and looked down at his clothes. He counted himself lucky as he felt like wearing Belle's clothes today, despite a bad start in the morning. He sucked in a huge gulp of air and releasing it before reaching the handle and pushed the door open.

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**GASTON**

This is the day! This is the day! She will accept him and become his lovely bride. He had rehearsed several times on how he should propose to Belle. Each time, it just keeps getting better and better. He knew she could not resist him especially in his best suit.

Although he was still in a foul mood, he was confident that she will say yes. Lefou nearly ruined the surprise when he accidentally struck up the band. He could have alerted Belle. Lefou was fortunate that Belle did not come out from the cottage to investigate. He knocked on the door, and waited for his beloved to answer. He heard a chair being dragged behind and a set of footsteps approaching the door. It stopped in front of the door, and yet it was not open. **"Maybe she saw me through her mad father's invention and fell in awe with me. It was a good decision to make this suit."** He thought about this happily. He prepared himself as the door was finally open.

Didn't want to give her any chance of refusing him, he entered her home. He heard her say, "Gaston, what a pleasant...surprise." Pleased by her words, he said, "Isn't it though?I'm just full of surprises. You know, Belle," **this will not do. Poor girl, this house is bare of accessories and instead filled with junk. Right, on with the proposal** he continued, "There's not a girl in town who wouldn't love to be in your shoes. This is the day..." He paused in front of a mirror and licks his teeth clean. "This is the day your dreams come true," said Gaston as if he just gave her the grand prize at a fair.

* * *

**HARRY / BELLE**

She never felt so infuriated before. **How dare he! **She questioned him. "What do you know about my dreams, Gaston?" He answered like an expert, "Plenty. Here, picture this."

Gaston plopped down in her father's chair and propped up his mud-covered boots up on her book on the table. She was furious. She was so close to strangling him with her bare hands. **That was her precious book! **He even kicked off his boots and wiggled his toes through his hole-y socks. **Disgusting! **All the while, he was narrating.

"A rustic hunting lodge, my latest kill roasting on the fire, and my little wife, massages my feet, while the little ones play with the dogs." **This is too much. I think I'm going to vomit.** He came right at her face and said, "We'll have six or seven." **Dogs? ** I must have said it out loud because he said, "No, Belle! Strapping boys, like me!" **Do I look like a bloody mare to you? Oh if mother were here to hear me, she will wash my mouth. No, this has gone too far. I need to get away, or rather get him out.**

Acting coolly, Belle said, "Imagine that." She picked up the book, place a bookmark in it, and put it on the shelf. "And do you know who that wife will be?" Still in her cool, she said, "Let me think..." She turned around, eyes went wide as Gaston cornered her. "You, Belle!" Belle immediately ducked under Gaston's arms. Stalling him, she said "Gaston, I'm speechless. I really don't know what to say." ** I really don't know what to say other than cursing you into oblivion. **

She managed to position her back against the front door, where she can hear Lefou instructing them to get ready. **Oh, they need to be ready alright. **Gaston reached her and trapped her against the door. He asked her, "Say you will marry me." **Oh, how unromantic!** Putting on a false face, she sadly said, "I'm very sorry, Gaston, but I just don't deserve you."

She reached for the doorknob, twisted it and the door opened outward. She once again ducked under Gaston, as he tumbled out the door and into the mud. The wedding band began to play "Here Comes the Bride." Belle spotted his boots and opened the door again to throw them out. She pressed her ears to the door, and giggled giddily as she heard him ranting out his frustration at Lefou and Pierre, a pig.

She waited for another hour before leaving the cottage to get some fresh air. She poked her head out the door. Seeing the coast was clear, she ventured to the field behind her home. She placed the strongest Silencing wards around her and screamed to her heart's content. Due to lack of energy and exhaustion tolling on her, she slowly sat down, and then lay back against the grass field.

***END FLASHBACK***

Belle (Harry is in that persona) was startled by a familiar neigh. It was Phillipe, running into the open field. Belle looked at him, disturbed that her papa was not with him. She ran up to meet him.

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**PHILLIPE**

"Phillipe! What are you doing here? Where's Papa? Where is he, Phillipe? What happened?" Phillipe tried his hardest to convey his distress by forcing his emotions through the link that they share to his little master. His little master must have gotten the message as he cried, "Oh, we have to find him, you have to take me to him!"

His little master unhitched the wagon from Phillipe. He went to the house to get a sling bag, which he was sure had contained several herbs and potions for his master and a cloak. They rode off into the sunset. Back into the scary forest, he tried his best to lead them to his beloved master. Suddenly, a whine/growl emitted from a tree nearby.

Phillipe had gone still as he recognised it as a wolf sound. No, he was not let the wolves get his little master like how they did to his older master. His little master urged him to move forward, no doubt wanting to see where the sound came from. He refused to budge and even trotted backwards, away from the predator.

* * *

**HARRY / BELLE**

The sound came from that tree in front of them. Why was Phillipe scared? Maybe, he was attacked by it. Never the less, he couldn't leave the poor creature alone. Dismounting Phillipe, she reached for a jar of bluebell flames in the bag and held it out in front of her. As she approached the creature slowly, Phillipe grabbed her cloak, forbidding her to go anywhere near it. "Sshhh, it's okay. It's injured. We will be safe. Please stay here." She gently removed the cloak from Phillipe and approached it once more.

It was a wolf. Its coat was black as midnight. Belle was fortunate to be able to see it due to moonlight shining directly upon them. It was barely breathing, trying to conserve its energy. It appeared to be bleeding heavily on his back and front leg. It growled/whined again at Belle when it saw her approaching. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." Belle tried to assure the wolf that she meant to harm. She talked to the wolf, informing it that she will try to heal him. Sensing that she was sincere, it let me touch it.

"You are a strong boy, aren't you? You will be a fine leader one day." It growled softly at her. Taking out some herbs, potions and luckily some rare meat, she replied, "Oh, you are an alpha. I'm sorry. Maybe you will be able to go back to your family." It whined instead. Its back appeared to be broken. She slipped some sleeping potion into the meat that she fed the wolf among other healing potions. Later, she applied some herbs directly on the surface wounds; both on the back and front leg.

Assured that the wolf will survive, she left the meat with the male wolf and departed with Phillipe in search of her father. They soon arrived at the castle gates after searching all other possible routes her papa might have taken. Amazed, she said to her "What is this place?" Phillipe snorted, then began to buck as if something was scaring him.

Belle immediately dismounted and comforted him. "Phillipe, please, steady." They both entered the castle. She spotted her father's hat on the ground. She knew instantly her papa was in that castle. She wanted to knock, but decided against it. She opened the door instead and entered the castle. She called out, "Hello? Is anyone here? Hello? Papa? Papa, are you here?"

**"****Goodness, this place was huge. Please, Goddess, guide me to Papa!"** She decided to just go straight, see where took her. She walked along corridors and hallways, occasionally calling out Papa. She soon advanced down a narrow hallway. She then heard a door creak opened and turned towards it. She saw a pale light shining through the gap.

"Papa? Papa?" The light appeared to be dimming. She rushed towards it. "Hello? Is someone there? Wait! I'm looking for my father. I must find him." She began up the stairs. Something puzzled her. "That's funny, I'm sure there was someone...Is there anyone here?"

A disbelief whisper called her name. "Belle?" Recognising her papa's voice, she grabbed a torch and rushed to the cell to find him. She was angry, heart-broken to see her father in a frail state. Reaching into her bag, she took out several potions and ordered him to drink them. He obediently drank them. "Oh, Papa!" "How did you find me?" She reached for his hand. "Oh, your hands are like ice. We have to get you out of here."

Mustering enough energy, he said "Belle, I want you to leave this place!" She questioned him. "Who's done this to you?" He insisted, "No time to explain. You must go...now!" "I won't leave you!"

Suddenly, something grabbed her shoulder and whipped her around. She dropped the torch she was carrying into a puddle. The room turned dark apart from one beam of light from the skylight.

A gruff voice from the darkness asked, "What are you doing here?" Her papa urged her to run. Not wanting to leave without her papa, she asked back "Who's there? Who are you?" Reluctantly, the voice answered "The master of this castle." "I've come for my father. Please let him out! Can't you see he's sick?" She got instead, "Then, he should not have trespassed here."

The voice kept moving around. She blindly pleaded to a direction, "But he could die. Please, I'll do anything!" "There's nothing you could do. He's my prisoner." Desperately she just said, "Oh, there must be some way I can..." an idea came to her "Wait! Take me, instead!" "You!" **Wow, it sounded surprise.** "You would take his place?"

Her father pleaded, "Belle! No! You don't know what you're doing!" Determined more than ever, she asked "If I did, would you let him go?" "Yes, but you must promise to stay here forever." **Okay, that is one tough decision...wait, hold a sec...** She realised that she couldn't see the captor. "Come into the light."

* * *

A furry leg emerged, and then the whole body into the light. Belle looked, her eyes growing wide until she could stand no more. It was a Beast! She fell back into Maurice. He held her hands, "No, Belle! I won't let you do this!" She regained her composure, released her hold on her papa's hand. She then stepped into the light, looked once directly at the Beast and closed them. She had made her decision. "You have my word." The Beast said quickly, "Done!"

The Beast moved over to unlock the cell door. Belle just collapsed to the floor with her head in her hands. She heard the door being unlocked, then Maurice rushing over to his daughter. "No, Belle! Listen to me! I'm old, I've lived my life..." Before he could day his piece, the Beast grabbed and dragged him downstairs. Despaired, she cried, "Wait!" "Belle!" "Wait!"

The shields were breaking down on her. She was feeling too much. She walked over to the tower's window in time to see the palanquin holding her father crossing the bridge over the moat. Realising that she will never see her beloved papa, the only family she had left, she began to cry. She heard the Beast entering the tower and saw her crying. "You didn't even let me say goodbye." Sadness, agony and loneliness seeped through her mind's defence. "I'll never see him again." With what happened with Gaston and the unfairness of her not being able to say her last goodbye to her papa, rage filled through her entire being. "I didn't get to say good-bye!"

She knew the Beast would retaliate, but she didn't care. She just lost herself into her emotions. The backlash of holding in her emotions too long drove her mind into oblivion, depriving her body of her energy. Before the darkness swept her off her feet, she felt herself covered in a fur coat and caught sight of a very familiar blue eyes.

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**Thank you everyone for waiting for this update. I need reviews to know whether I'm straying from the original plot. So, members or not, please, I strive for reviews. Please mind my spelling and grammar.**


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